Necrophilous insect succession and sampling on fetal pig

After death, a cadaver becomes a habitat and food source for many different necrophilous insects, including blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae), flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), clown beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae), and carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae). This work characterizes the pattern of arrival of these various insects in rural North Carolina. This information can be used to assist forensic entomologists in post mortem interval calculations and may be used by ecologists to better understand the cadaver microecosystem. Additionally, various active and passive insect collection techniques (sweep net, vacuum, sticky traps, emergence trap) were analyzed for their effectiveness at trapping a representative sample of species present at a decomposing cadaver.